Arginine Kinase 1 supports energy homeostasis in Drosophila flight muscle development

In Drosophila, Arginine kinase 1 (Argk1) is involved in maintaining ATP homeostasis during bursts of activity in tissues with high and variable rates of energy turnover such as muscle. However, its role beyond stress conditions is less understood. Argk1 is the sole phosphagen kinase with dynamic expression throughout flight muscle development. Here, we show that at least one of the Argk1 isoforms localizes to mitochondria in the developing myofibers, and its function is also necessary for proper flight muscle development. Depleting Argk1 specifically in the muscles lead to low ATP level and NAD + /NADH ratio, indicative of defects in energy homeostasis, and results in animal lethality. In the wing disc-associated myoblasts, Argk1 knockdown causes a reduction in cell size without changes in cell cycle progression. Single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) revealed that the transcriptomes of undifferentiated and differentiating Argk1-depleted myoblasts are not significantly affected compared to control. Furthermore, based on the marker expression and overall composition of scRNA-seq cell clusters, the early states of myoblasts differentiation are not severely disrupted in Argk1-depleted myoblasts. Nonetheless, Argk1 knockdown severely impacts later stages of muscle development. Remarkably, Argk1-depleted muscles completely lack spontaneous muscle contractions, which are required for proper sarcomere maturation in the formation of the indirect flight muscle. Accordingly, Argk1-depleted muscles showed defects related to sarcomere maturation, and mitochondrial morphogenesis; thus, leading to a severe reduction in muscle growth. Therefore, our data reveal an essential role for Argk1 in flight muscle development, presumably by sustaining local ATP levels to meet the energetic demand to support myofibrillogenesis, muscle growth and proper flight muscle function.